Literature display rack



April 12, 1960 R. H. PEIFFER LITERATURE DISPLAY RACK Filed Oct. 18,1957

INVENTOR. ROBERT H. PE/FFER A TTORIIEY United States Patent ice PatentedApr. 12, 1960' LITERATURE DISPLAY RACK Robert Howard Peilfer, Rochester,N.Y.

Application October 18, 1957, Serial No. 691,096 3 Claims. c1. 211 0)The present invention relates to display racks, and more particularly,to racks for displaying literature, such as advertising leaflets,itravel folders, train or airplane schedules, etc. Y

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a literaturerack which will be attractive in appearance, and which will clearly andfully display the pamphlets placed therein. To this end, it is a furtherobject of the invention to provide a literature rack made of atransparent material so that a person glancing at the rack can seeclearly the whole of the outside cover of each leaflet or pamphlet inthe rack.

Another object of the invention is to provide a literature rack of thecharacter described which is simple in construction, which can carryreadily a number of different pamphlets or leaflets, and which can bemade and sold at a reasonable price.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from thespecification and from the recital of the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a literature rack made according to oneembodiment of this invention, showing in dotted lines literaturedisplayed therein;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of this rack without any literature therein,and with the supporting easel folded against the back;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the rack;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section on an enlarged scale taken on the line4-4 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, and showing apocket of the rack expanded by the literature contained therein, theliterature being shown in dotted lines; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view looking at the rear of the rack.

The display rack illustrated in the drawing comprises a back made ofheavy cardboard, pressed board, or the like. The literature, which is tobe displayed, is adapted to be carried in pockets formed by holders 11.Each holder is made of transparent plastic material, such as an acetate.Each holder is of general U-shape in cross section. It is open at bothends. It has, however, a bottom 12 slightly inclined downwardly from itsrear wall 14 to its front wall 13. The upper edge terminal portions ofboth the front and rear walls 13 and 14 are folded over along their fulllengths as denoted at 20 and 21, respectively, to provide extrastrength. The front wall 13 of each holder, moreover, is formed so thatit is normally curved toward the rear wall of the holder from bottom totop, as shown in Fig. 2. The elasticity of the plastic thus puts aconstant pressure on the literature in the holder to hold the pamphletsor circulars erect.

In the embodiment shown, the width of each holder is only slightly lessthan the width of the back 10. Each holder is secured to the back by aplurality of binding posts 15. Each binding post comprises a clearplastic headed stud 16 and 'a clear plastic screw 17. Each screw extendsthrough a grommet or eyelet 18 in the board .10 and through a grommet oreyelet 19 in the folded over portion 20 of the back 14 of the holder.Each screw threads into the headed stud portion 16, which is passedthrough a hole in the folded over portion 21 of the front wall 13 of theholder. The cooperating eyelet 18 in the back board and the axiallyaligned associated eyelet 19 tend to hold the screw 17 of each bindingpost against rotation. In the embodiment of the invention shown, thereare four ,equi-spaced studs for securing each of the holders 1 1-to theback 10. of the display rack; and the two holders are disposedvertically one above the other.

In use, the binding posts serve as separators dividing each holder intothree pockets to receive leaflets or other literature L. When thepockets are empty, the front walls 13 of the holders are pressed by theinherent resiliency of the plastic toward the back walls thereof, asshown in Fig. 2, but when literature is inserted in the pockets, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, the literature will force the frontwall 13 forwardly.

As already pointed out, the inherent resiliency of each holder willcause the front wall to apply a constant pressure on the leaflets, topress the leaflets toward the back of the holder, and hold them erect.The downward inclined bottom wall of each holder tends to cause theleaflets left in the rack to move toward the front, as leaflets areremoved from the rack.

The holder may be supported in display position by a folding cardboardeasel, such as denoted at 25 (Fig. 5), which is secured to the back ofthe rack by screws 26 or by glue or any other conventional means; or therack may be suspended from a wall by hooks or nails passed througheyelets or grommets 27 in the back.

The back 10 may carry advertising or other matter relating to theliterature to be displayed if desired.

The display rack of the present invention permits any literaturedisplayed therein to be readily seen. In substantially all previouslyknown literature racks only so much of the literature therein wasvisible as extended above the pockets of the racks.

With the construction described, it is possible quickly to disassemblethe rack by removing the binding posts and screws, thereby enabling theholders to be disassembled from the back. This makes the rack aknock-down item which saves shipping space and shipping costs.

While the invention has been described in connection with a specificembodiment thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of furthermodification, and this application is intended to cover any variations,uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, theprinciples of the invention and including such departures from thepresent disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the artto which the invention pertains and as may fall within the scope of theinvention or the limits of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A literature display rack comprising a back, a pocket, said pocketbeing U-shaped in cross-section and being made of a single sheet ofclear, transparent, resilient plastic, and means for securing saidpocket to said back, said securing means comprising a plurality ofbinding posts which are passed through the front and rear walls of thepocket and which are secured in said back, said binding posts acting asseparators to divide the pocket into a plurality of compartments.

2. A literature display rack comprising a back, a pocket, said pocketbeing U-shaped in cross-section and being made of a single sheet ofclear, transparent, resilient plastic, the bottom wall of said pocketbeing inclined downwardly from rear to front, and the front wall of saidpocket being bent rearwardly from bottom to top, whereby the resiliencyof the plastic applies a pressure the literature erect, the uppermarginal portions of both the front and rear walls of said pocket beingbent upon themselves to form double-thickness marginal top edges for thepocket which reinforce the pocket, and means, for securing said pocketto said back, said securing means passing through the double-thicknessmarginal top edges of saidtpocket and comprising a headed stud and ascrew, said back and the double-thickness marginal top edge of the rearwall of the pocket having axially-aligned grommets therein, and thedouble-thickness marginal top edge of the front wall of the pockethaving a registering hole therein, the head of said stud engagingagainst the front wall of the pocket and the shank of said stud passingthrough said hole, and said screw passing through both said grommets andthreading into the shank of said stud.

3. A literature display rack comprising a back, a pocket, and means forsecuring said pocket to said back, said pocket being open at both endsand being U-shaped in cross-section and being made of a single sheet ofclear, transparent, resilient plastic, the bottom wall of said pocketbeing inclined downwardly from rear to front,

1 and the front wall of said pocket being bent rearwardly from bottom totop, whereby the resiliency of the plastic applies a pressure to anyliterature placed in the pocket, tending to hold the literature erect,and said securing means comprising a plurality of equispaced bindingposts which are passed through the front and rear walls of the pocketand which are secured in said back, said binding posts acting asseparators to divide the pocket into a plurality of compartments;

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS493,154 Dempsey Mar. 7, 1893 579,566 Drenning Mar. 30, 1897 643,917Tendick Feb. 20, 1900 714,137 Branch Nov. 25, 1902 1,094,511 Armor Apr.28, 1914 1,105,835 Radley Aug. 4, 1914 2,210,048 Swanson Aug. 6, 19402,437,415 Berry Mar. 9, 1948 2,560,110 Horn July'10, 1951 2,698,690Rubenstein Jan. 4, 1955

